Khalid and Khalid

[2016] FamCA 550

FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA

KHALID & KHALID [2016] FamCA 550

FAMILY LAW – PROPERTY – APPLICATION FOR FINAL ORDERS – CONTRAVENTION

APPLICANT: Ms Khalid

RESPONDENT: Mr Khalid

FILE NUMBER: CAC 128 of 2014

DATE DELIVERED: 21 June 2016

PLACE DELIVERED: Canberra

PLACE HEARD: Canberra

JUDGMENT OF: Gill J

HEARING DATE: 21 June 2016

REPRESENTATION

COUNSEL FOR THE APPLICANT: Ms Haughton

SOLICITOR FOR THE APPLICANT: Infinity Legal

SOLICITOR FOR THE RESPONDENT: Mr Khalid is self-representing

Orders

Application in a Case filed 7 June 2016

1. The wife do all things necessary to make the property ready for sale, including cleaning and maintenance, and the husband shall pay any and all costs reasonably incurred in this process.

2. a.     The wife is appointed as trustee for the sale of the Swiss watch, currently in the possession of the applicant wife’s solicitors. 

   b.    The wife is to account to the husband, and the lawyers for the liquidator, both as to the sale of the watch, the expenses involved in the sale of the watch, money received from the sale of the watch and the expenditure of those monies. 

3. a.     The husband is to remove from the property the vehicle depicted in photograph 10 of Exhibit W2 that is prestige motor vehicle …, within a period of 14 days from the making of these orders. 

   b.    If the husband does not do so, it is ordered that after the expiration of 7 days after that date the wife will dispose of that vehicle in a reasonable manner. 

   c.    The wife is to account to the husband, and the lawyers for the liquidator, for the expenses of such disposal and money received from such disposal.  The proceeds of such sale, if there are any, may be used towards the expenses required to ready the properties for sale but they must be accounted for by the wife.

4. All other orders sought in the Application in a Case filed on 7 June 2016 are dismissed.

Final Orders Application

1. The property proceedings are adjourned into the Registrars list until a date to be fixed and notified to the parties. 

2. I direct that the solicitors for the liquidator are to advise the Registrar as to any allocated hearing dates for the proceedings in the Supreme Court in Victoria.

3. I direct that the Liquidator provide to the wife copies of any documents filed in the Supreme Court proceedings including those filed by the husband.

Contravention Application filed 28 April 2016

1. I make order supplementing Order 7 of the orders made by Judge Neville on 15 June 2016 defining the period of time the father will have with his daughter, D, for the July school holidays as follows:

   a.       D will spend time with her father from after school on Friday 1 July 2016 to midday Sunday 10 July 2016 at which point she will be returned to her mother. 

2. The Contravention Application filed 28 April 2016 is adjourned to Monday 4 July 2016 at 2:15pm for hearing.

IT IS NOTED THAT:

1. The Address for Service for the husband is E Group, F Street, Suburb G. 

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, IN CHAMBERS THAT:

1. The Application in a Case filed on 20 June 2016 is adjourned for directions on 4 July 2016 in conjunction with the hearing of the Contravention Application.

IT IS NOTED that publication of this judgment by this Court under the pseudonym Khalid & Khalid has been approved by the Chief Justice pursuant to s 121(9)(g) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).

FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA AT CANBERRA

FILE NUMBER: CAC 128 of 2014

Mr Khalid

Applicant

And

Ms Khalid

Respondent

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

1. In the Application in a Case filed 7 June 2016 representations have been made to me from the bar table showing that Mr Khalid has now exited the residence of the property that was the subject of the application for warrant of possession.  There is no need to make that order, given that he has vacated the property.

2. Further evidence in the form of Exhibits 1, 2 and 3 made by the wife indicate that the property is now in arrears in relation to the mortgage, that it has a car left at the property, and that the property is in a condition which renders it unfit for sale, in particular, by virtue of some damage to the property and the presence of a significant amount of rubbish on the property.

3. I note that the orders of Benjamin J facilitate the sale of the properties, and have done so in order to preserve the property of the parties on the basis that delay in sale would result in the debts in relation to the parties continuing to accumulate without an increasing value in the asset, thus rendering a diminution of the property pool for the parties.  The application made before me today is for the sale of a Swiss watch which is currently in the possession of the solicitors for the wife, having been placed in their possession by Benjamin J on the last occasion.

4. They seek that sale in order 5 of the application filed 7 June 2016.  The husband has been on notice of that application.  The basis for the making of the application is, again, as it was with Benjamin J, to preserve the property of the parties, at least in a global sense.  The sale of the watch is said to be necessitated in order to present the properties for sale, and is clear on the basis of the photographs that have been provided that significant work is required to be undertaken to make the properties ready for sale.  And that is reinforced by the invoice quote provided by Mr H, that again shows the cost of readying the properties for sale.

5. In order to preserve the property of the parties, it is necessary to sell the watch.  Reference has been made to the financial statements filed by the parties in December of last year.  Those indicate that each of the parties had expenses beyond the income that they were receiving.  While it is the case that the husband’s expense mix has now changed, given that he is no longer paying one of the mortgages, I do not know what his current expenses are, understanding that he may now be paying some form of rent. 

6. I am not in a position to say that he can make the payment from his current income.  He points to the fact that the wife is planning a trip to Asia.  At this point, I am unable to determine that that gives her the necessary income or assets to present the properties for sale in order to preserve the properties.  The watch is in the possession of the solicitors for the wife, and on the last occasion, evidence was given which indicated that it was of reasonably significant value without descending to particulars, something in the order of $7000 was paid for the watch.

7. Accordingly, in order to preserve the parties of the parties, I make order 5 as sought by the wife.  I make a further order that the wife is to account to the husband both as to the sale of the watch, the expenses involved in the sale of the watch, the money received from the sale of the watch, and the expenditure of those moneys.  An issue has also been raised about the presence of the vehicle at the property.  The husband complains that it is the wife who is responsible for the vehicle being at the property.  He might be right about that.  That’s not a matter that I am required to resolve in order to deal with the matter today.

8. The wife offered to take steps to dispose of the property by selling it to a wrecker.  The husband has indicated that he will take responsibility for the vehicle which he asserts is registered in his name.  Again, it is an item that needs to be removed from the property to ready it for sale.  He has indicated that he can deal with the matter within 14 days.  I make orders that the husband is to remove from the property the vehicle depicted in photograph 10 of Exhibit W2.  That is, prestige motor vehicle …, within a period of 14 days from the making of these orders.

9. If he does not do so, I order that after the expiration of seven days after that date, the wife may dispose of that vehicle in a reasonable manner.  I make orders that the wife is to account to the husband for the expenses of such disposal, and money received from such disposal.  The proceeds of such sale, if there are any, may be used towards the expenses required to ready the properties for sale, but they must be accounted for by the wife. 

10. Otherwise, in relation to the property orders, an application has been made to adjourn the property proceedings pending the resolution of proceedings in the Victorian Supreme Court that relate to a company, I Proprietary Limited, of whom the husband is a director.  I am told that those proceedings are likely to be resolved within six months.  I do not know whether they will precisely be resolved within that period.  At this stage, I will otherwise adjourn the property proceedings into the registrar’s list until a date to be fixed, and notify it to the parties.

11. I amend the previous orders to add for all accounting requirements, they are to be made to the solicitors for the liquidators.

12. I make order supplementing order 7 of the orders made by Neville J on 15 June 2015 defining the period of time that the father will have with his daughter for the July school holidays as follows.  D will spend time with her father from after school on Friday 1 July 2016 until midday Sunday 10 July 2016, at which point she shall be returned to her mother.

13. I adjourn the Contravention Application that was filed to 28 April 2016 until 2 pm on Monday 4 July 2016.

I certify that the preceding thirteen (13) paragraphs are a true copy of the reasons for judgment of the Honourable Justice Gill delivered on 21 June 2016.

Associate: 

Date: